


A Branch in Time

by dramaticinsanity



Series: Beyond the End [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, Parallel Universe, post Endgame
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2020-02-10 17:25:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18664981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dramaticinsanity/pseuds/dramaticinsanity
Summary: Tony finds himself in an unexpected place, and he ends up recruiting an unexpected ally. Rather, a potential ally invites himself along for the ride. (AVENGERS: ENDGAME SPOILERS within story! Do not click if you haven't seen it!)





	A Branch in Time

**Author's Note:**

> In case you missed it by the summary add-on AND the tag here's another warning: there are SPOILERS
> 
> Everyone and their grandmother will probably write something to the effect of this fic's general concept, nor do I know if I did it well - - but this is me, trying to cope. It has the premise of a multi-chapter, and though there's a vague Story lurking in the depths of my brain, it will likely stay as a standalone. Also, I don’t know how this spawned from my brain without any romantic content, considering ships are usually all that I think about.

Tony's eyes flutter open. He clenches bed sheets in his fingers. Is this… the  _after?_ He feels a lot more than he expected. His body aches, though not as much as it should. His head has the intensity of a morning hangover that he hasn't known in a while.

He slowly sits up. Some kind of old habit causes him to call out, "JARVIS, where am I?"

He braces for the emptiness. Instead, he gets an answer.

"Your bedroom, sir."

"Can you. Uh. Wha - which bedroom?"

"In Stark Tower, sir."

Tony rubs his eyes. This could be some kind of purgatory, a judgement zone, a test before he gets to the  _after_. He plants his feet on the floor and stands. For a moment he wonders if he should go through his morning routine.

His old routine. He does, in an attempt to get a sense of reality.

Once that's done, Tony braves the next question. "H - how long has it been since the fight?"

There's a moment of hesitation. "Twenty-four hours. A skirmish between yourself and some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents resulted in the Tesseract getting into the hands of Loki. He escaped. Are you feeling alright sir? You did experience a cardiac issue, if you recall."

Tony blows out air. He remembers. He grabbed the case. Hulk came through the door from the stairway, the case fell open on the ground. That can't be right, though. Steve went back in time. He fixed it, put the stones back in place.

"I'm fine. I'm perf - mostly fine." Tony sighs and rubs his face. Maybe he didn't really die, and this is a comatose fever dream.

He needs coffee. He needs at least three cups of coffee. Tony rushes to the kitchen and makes coffee. He scrolls through the news. He almost calls Rhodey, Pepper, or Steve about a dozen times. He's not sure they're prepared to swallow this particular pill.

Ultimately, he settles on getting Bruce on his level.

"JARVIS, can you ask Bruce to come up to the kitchen of this floor? Urgently."

"Of course, sir."

He closes his eyes. Everytime, he soaks in the voice of his old AI. He'd nearly forgotten what it sounded like - sure there are recordings but it's not the same as real time. JARVIS ended when Vision ended. Tony didn't have the heart to try and remake his greatest creation,  _(greatest aside from Morgan - though that was more nature's amazing workings, rather than anything he did in particular - and Iron Man)_. God, Morgan. His heart clenched. If he is dead, he doesn't know  _when_  he'll see them - hopefully a good long while, for their sake. If he's alive and in another time, he doesn't know  _if_  he'll ever see them again. Tony would never see anyone again, not as he came to know them. Pepper, Rhodey, Happy, the kid Peter, the rest of the Avengers - in a way they could be lost to him. Well, best not get ahead of himself. This could still be a dream, a delusion. There could be a way to get back - forward? Either way, it's not like this will last forever. His heroics and recklessness will catch up to him in any reality, and if there's justice at all in the universe, they'll be someday reunited in the beyond.

Tony had difficulty believing in some kind of system of Heaven and Hell, prior to the confirmed knowledge that they weren't alone in the universe. Far from it. What else could be possible? Almost anything. Maybe this is Heaven or Hell. Reliving a different version of his life after the Avengers were formed, a sort of quasi-reset. He's getting overwhelmed. He folds his hands on the table and bows his head, sinking into his techniques to dissolve anxiety attacks.

"Hey, Tone, what's up?" There's a pause. "Are you ok?"

Tony faces him. It's a relief to not see him - how he was when Tony last saw him. In the future. This is going to give him a serious headache. Tony clears his throat.

"If I - If i told you something completely batshit crazy, like crazier than a bag of cats that's been shaken - would you promise not to freak out?"

Bruce wrings his hands and smiles wryly. "After the day I had yesterday? Aliens? Norse Gods? Assassins helping to save the world? A billionaire philanthropist who builds mech suits thinking it's a good idea to provoke the Hulk? Please. I don't know what could shock me right now."

Tony sighs. He paces the length of the counter and takes a swig of coffee. "Here goes. I'm uh, I'm pretty sure I'm from the future, several  _years_ , in fact."

Bruce raises his eyebrows, but he slightly nods.

"I also traveled to the past before - - well, I think I died saving the world. But I woke up. In this old young body. Somehow. Future me traveled to this time, a day earlier, so we could steal the space stone. Long story. Anyway, Loki did escape, but Rogers brought the stone back. Supposedly. Originally, he didn't escape."

Bruce stares, his mouth pressed in a thin line. Finally he remarks, "You're right. That is… batshit insane. Wow."

He takes off his glasses to rub the lenses. "Frankly Tony, I don't know what you expect me to do with this information."

"You don't have to do anything," Tony assures him. "I just needed to tell someone before I totally lost it. I seriously - I died, ok? I should be chilling in the big workshop in the sky, or maybe, I like to think I would - but I'm not. I don't know why. I don't know who or what is screwing with me right now."

Tony snaps his fingers, startling Bruce. "I should go see Doctor Strange - wait you mentioned he's not a sorcerer yet -"

"What? Me? Who -"

"Not you, you, future you. Nevermind. So, the Ancient One, would know what's going on. Possibly. There's also a good chance she'll be pissed at me," Tony rambles. Bruce watches him with a bemused expression.

"If I may interject," JARVIS says, causing them both to jump. "Steve Rogers is at the door. Shall I let him in?"

"Yeah -" Tony freezes, his eyes thoughtfully narrowing. "Wait, no. I'll meet him at the door."

Tony slips on the band for calling his iron man suit ( _so outdated now - later - holy shit_ ), gestures for Bruce to follow, and he puts a finger on his lips. Bruce appears confused, but he follows the directions. He hides behind a wall as Tony approaches the door.

He throws the door open. Steve Rogers, as it appears to be, leans on the door frame, his legs crossed at the ankles. Something is definitely off about his body language. His gaze is too calculating. Fake Rogers' eyes scan him, and then the corridor behind him. Suddenly, he lunges forward, shoves Tony against the wall and covers his mouth.

He whispers, "Are you alone?"

Tony gestures at Bruce with one hand, hoping that he properly conveys that he doesn't want Bruce or the Hulk to burst in, at least not yet. Tony nods. Fake Rogers releases him. His likeness fades to reveal Loki with angry eyes.

"Hello Lokien Tolkien. Back for that drink?"

Loki's eyes narrow further, and he purses his lips. "You do not appear surprised to see me, mortal."

"You're extremely annoying. How can I not expect you to be a bee in my bonnet?" Deflection, that's good. Loki raises an eyebrow. Shit, he doesn't quite buy it.

"Okay, question." Tony continues, "Why the hell are you here after we handed you your ass? Eager for round two?"

Loki's eye twitches. "The Tesseract will not let me leave this insipid city, the planet, it won't even let me go further than a few blocks."

Tony snorts. Loki snarls and shoves him by the chest.

"A fucking  _rock_  won't let you leave? I mean it's powerful but come on."

"I never -"

"Don't you have your own magic?"

"It's depleted."

Tony examines his red eyes. "You could try sleeping, sometimes. Even a so-called God like you needs to sleep right?"

Bruce saunters out, his hands in his pockets. "That's rich, coming from you, Tony." Thankfully, he's not green. Loki jerks in alarm. He raises his hands at Bruce in threat.

"You indicated you were alone! Who is this?"

"Shouldn't you know? You did your research didn't you." Tony changes track. "Anyway, I can't believe you just  _believed_ me. I'm honored how much you trust me, really, I'm touched we're such great friends already -"

"Shut it you insufferable Midgardian," Loki barks. He turns toward the door, which he finds he cannot open. He twitches his fingers, and green puffs curl outward. However, it has no effect. "Let me out or suffer the consequences."

"What are you gonna do? Throw the Tesseract at me and run? Good luck. This place was on lock down the moment you dropped your disguise. My walls have eyes, so to speak."

Loki drops his head in his hands. "I am too tired for this. I have failed.  _He_ will come for me, for this planet. It's only a matter of time. I only delayed the  _inevitable_."

JARVIS chimes in, "And what is the inevitable, Prince Loki?"

The single, familiar word makes Tony's stomach churn. He wants to pluck it from the air and crush it in his fist.

Loki looks around wildly. "Exactly how many people are here?"

Tony taps his chin. "Including us? Three thousand."

Loki's eyes bug out. Tony takes a moment to enjoy the utter panic on his face. "Just kidding. It's me, Bruce Banner over there, and my AI, JARVIS."

"AI? What is that, a servant? Some kind of magic?" Loki grips the collar of his shirt. "Is it going to attack?"

"It's technology. Artificial intelligence. Very advanced, if I do say so myself, as I created him. Kind of like a glorified servant, but that would be selling it short," Tony replies.

"Thank you sir."

Loki licks his lips and releases him. "Fascinating. For all the advancements Asgard has on you, this is a new one on me. We have nothing like it."

Tony wants to preen at that, but he restrains himself. He shouldn't preen over compliments from someone who is technically an enemy. At this time, it doesn't matter that Thor said he helped save the people of Asgard, that he died attempting to trick Thanos and kill him. That hasn't happened yet. Loki hasn't even faked his death in elf land yet.

Bruce nearby is leaning his back on the wall, wearing a highly amused and equally befuddled expression. "This gets weirder and weirder, I've got to tell you. Are you two best friends in the future or something?"

Tony shushes him, but it's too late. Bruce looks sheepish. "Oops."

Loki's eyes alight on him. "The future? You're from the future?"

They have a staring contest as Loki awaits his answer. Tony contemplates his choices. He could contact the other Avengers, so they can take him away. There's a chance S.H.I.E.L.D. could get involved, and Tony knows they're currently infected with Hydra. Considering what they did with the spear and the wonder twins, the last thing Tony needs is for them to get their hands on a space Wizard-God-Superhuman-Frost Giant-Person.

He admits, "S - sort of? My consciousness is, not so much the physical."

"Why? How? When?"

"Slow your roll. I have no idea why, who, how, or what. All I know is I come from roughly eleven years in the future, following my death."

Loki puts his hand on his hip. "I'm guessing you are not interested in disclosing any useful information from the future."

"Yeah, no. I already shouldn't be here, I don't want to wreck shit even more. I also can't let you leave," Tony says. "The last thing I need is for you to fall in the hands of Thanos or Hydra."

Bruce asks, "Who are they?"

Loki's eyes awash in fear, as his features pale. He says in a low whisper, "You know of Thanos?"

Tony frowns at his shoes. "I wish I didn't."

Loki audibly swallows. "Don't we all."

"Are you two bonding right now? Is this what this is? I don't know what is happening right now, and it's starting to scare me," Bruce remarks.

"We are on the same page, Dr. Banner," JARVIS adds.

"Yeah, uh, I am definitely  _not_  bonding with this war criminal."

There  _had_  been times where Tony wondered whether he and Loki would've gotten along, were they not on opposite sides of the hero/villain fence. No one in the room needs to know about that - no one else, either. JARVIS knows but… he always  _knows_.

Loki turns away from them, his cape swishing. He stomps to the bar and plops down in his seat. "The Tesseract won't let me leave. My magic needs to recharge. I'm too weak to deal with the full force of the Avengers or Thanos' wrath. So, how about that drink, Stark?"

He's in between a rock and a hard place and recognizes it. Tony is thankful he's not as nuts as Tony had assumed ( _maybe that was thanks to the Hulk remodeling the still dented floor with his entire body_ ). He has no friends, allies, nowhere to go. None of it, nor any of his future knowledge, makes this situation less bizarre. Bruce sits on one of the stools and drops his head to the counter with a thunk. Tony doesn't blame him.

Tony rattles off the address to the New York Wizard Sanctum thing, so that JARVIS can set the course on his car. He could head there in his iron man suit, but he doesn't want to accidentally start a fight with a bunch of wizards.

He also has to decide whether to take along one or two guests. He doesn't want to let Loki out of his sight for a moment, especially since he still has the Tesseract. He could cause damage, even if he's stuck.

Tony shakes his head as he prepares the drinks. "I should be resting peacefully, watching over my loved ones, or something. Instead I have to babysit Thor's wayward brother and try to make sense of all this shit."

Bruce sips his drink. "I can't even wrap my mind around this."

"Stark," says Loki.

"Yeah?"

"Did - did  _he_  win?"

"Yes. Then no. Then kind of - depending on who you are. In my case, taking him down was the end of the line for me. Or it was supposed to be. You - You didn't - When Thor got to Earth he was -"

Loki's hand tightens around his glass. "Whatever you know about my fate, do not tell me."

Tony nods. He stares at the bottle. He doesn't feel like a drink. He puts it back. Bruce is carefully watching him. Tony shows his teeth in a sardonic grin.

He drives to the sanctum. He makes a sharp turn at one point, causing Bruce to be thrown into Loki. He grunts and squirms away from Bruce. He had forbidden them from taking shotgun - mainly because if Loki angered Bruce and he hulked out, he would just destroy the back of the car. Tony would have a little more time to escape the wreckage.

"Get your elbow out of my stomach, useless mortal."

"Get your stomach off of my elbow," Bruce retorts.

"That doesn't make sense."

"Neither did your plan to take over New York."

"It does, if you had any idea what I went through to -"

"You do know people died right? A lot of people? And the city -"

"Mortal lives are so short, what does it matter in the grand scheme," Loki huffs. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

"Did you seriously just quote Star Trek? There's no way you've seen Star Trek," Bruce says.

"Cease your inane chatter."

"I'm about to cease something - - I have a secret you know, I'm  _always_  -"

"Children!" Tony calls, "I will turn this car around, don't even test me!"

They fall silent. Loki crosses his arms like a petulant teenager and turns his body away from Bruce as much as possible. He mutters under his breath.

Tony asks, "You wanna share that with the class, God of Horny Helmets?"

"No."

Tony decides to not push the issue while they're in a moving vehicle. Though he's supposedly 'recharging', Tony is uncertain whether or not he could flip the car with a flick of his wrist. Loki isn't a damn cellphone and probably giving him a crock of shit, for his own hidden motive. They soon arrive at the destination. Tony slumps in relief. He suddenly has more kids than he remembers making.

"Bruce, I just want to let you know you're the reason Loki escaped. Part of the reason, at least. Rather, it was your other half."

Bruce twitches. "Huh? What did I - he -"

"What do you mean, his other half," Loki interrupts. His voice is oddly strained as he inquires, "Is this not his usual form? He can change?"

Loki is staring at his own hands like he's never seen them before - weird. Tony would prefer to never know what goes on inside the Trickster God's head.

"Uh -" Bruce helplessly looks at Tony. "Don't you remember?"

"Most of the battle and events leading up to it are hazy. My mind was… compromised."

There's Tony's back burner theory proved correct at last. Thor hadn't been a reliable resource for the account of Loki's fluctuating mental state.

"A discussion for another time," Tony interrupts, "I need to talk to someone."

As he reaches the door with Bruce and Loki trailing behind him, he wonders if he should've gotten Loki a leash, or at least a new muzzle.

"No funny business," Tony mumbles to Loki.

"No promises, Stark."

This should be fun. He doesn't know what else to do besides knock. Bruce idly scratches his arm. Loki shifts from one foot to the other. Loki glances at Bruce as though considering mischief. Tony gives him the side-eye, and Loki smiles in an innocent manner that wouldn't fool anyone.

One of the lower wizards, Tony presumes, answers the door.

"I'm here to see the Ancient One. Tell her it's Tony, a friend of Stephen Strange. She'll know what it means, I hope."

The dead-eyed doorman gives him a weary stare. He disappears inside the sanctum, leaving the door open. Tony creeps inside. Loki reaches for something that looks fragile. Tony launches himself over there and slaps his hand. Loki indignantly yelps.

"Don't touch anything, Khan, or I'll serve you a cold dish."

"I would appreciate it. I am famished," Loki replies. He has to be doing this on purpose. He's not as dense as Thor. Is he? Now, he's twirling a knife, his eyebrow raised, as though threatening Tony to fetch him a sandwich, or else. Where did the knife come from?

Tony settles for giving him a sharp glare. Bruce glances between them with concern.

"Tony Stark."

Tony jerks his head in the direction of  _her_. The one before Strange. Something in him nervously trembles, but he keeps his composure. Loki gives an unimpressed hum by Tony's ear.

Loki murmurs, "Cheap mortal knock-offs."

Tony doesn't deign to acknowledge him. Metal slides against the back of his hand. Without looking he yanks the knife out of his hand and swats him as he tries to retrieve it. The Ancient One observes them with no comment. Bruce wisely boxes Loki in between him and Tony. He firmly grips Loki's shoulder, which Loki gives a irritated glance.

He addresses the sorceress, "Ancient One, isn't it?"

"What have you done?" Her gaze is far away. "You are not from here. This time."

"Ding-ding. Not on purpose though, so no need to attack me with your wizard mojo. I just need to know if whoever did this seriously fucked some shit up."

She touches his forehead and closes her eyes. "It is shrouded. I am not sure who is responsible. However, I can tell you this - you've created a separate branch of time, a parallel universe. The one you came from is very much in tact and continuing without you."

Tony sighs. That's a relief. In his original universe, they won in the end. He - whatever did this - didn't erase Morgan, or anything else that happened after the snap.

"What do I do now? I - I don't know if there's any way back. Dimensional warping technology is - is beyond me."

He hates to admit it, that's true. He looked into it years ago - years ago where he's from - and it led to nothing but pointless dead ends.

"I'm afraid I don't have answers for you Stark. The only advice I can give is for you to live this second life to the fullest, and pray that it does not end badly. You've likely been sent back for a reason, but that reason only you can discover," she explains.

"Yeah - yeah I'll just - -  _do_ that. No problem."

Once they're back in the car, Tony mutters, "That was a bust. At least I know the other reality is still y'know, there. Whatever entity has done this to me, I'd love to punch it in the face, though."

"Save your energy," Loki comments.

Bruce agrees, "Whatever foes you have faced in the future are alive and well in this time. I don't know what that means to you, but I have a hunch you made as many enemies as friends."

Tony looks in the mirror and picks at his teeth. "Spot on, buddy. Goddamnit. Killian. Hydra. The Dark Elves - - not actually mine, but I think Loki was involved in that alongside Thor. I can definitely avoid Ultron this time around, but I don't know what I'm going to do about the scepter and the wonder twins. In that case, I guess I might avoid the accords drama with Steve. I'll probably have to keep Spider-man from getting himself killed again. Of course, the grand joy of them all, Thanos and his goons."

Loki leans forward and breathes right on his ear. "Dark Elves? Hmm. Perhaps, with your knowledge we will have an advantage."

Bruce makes an incredulous noise. "We? The hell do mean  _we?"_

Ignoring Bruce, Tony responds, "Or I could fuck it up even worse trying to avoid the ways I fucked it up the first time. Who knows."

Because he's a mature adult demigod, Loki flicks Bruce's arm. "There is nowhere in the universe I can truly hide from Thanos. I might as well bide my time on this pathetic planet."

Bruce argues, "If it's so pathetic why don't you leave?"

Loki grinds his teeth. "It's not that simple. Asgard and my bothersome brother will be looking for me as well, soon enough. Since the Tesseract refuses to help me - there's no guarantee Odin won't find a way to track my magic."

"What, do you think we'll protect you?"

"I  _think_. That you're - - not the most unintelligent Midgardians. You must realize that you are better off having my favor."

Bruce scoffs, "Because we're the ones who need  _your_  favor."

"Yes. As I - as much as it pains me to admit - need yours." Loki continues, "I don't want to die at the hands of Thanos or be imprisoned by Odin. You don't want the Dark Elves to plunge the nine realms - of which Midgard is a part of - back into darkness. I know things that you don't, about Thanos, and my general ability to gather intel can be of use to you. All I ask is sanctuary in return."

"You have to lay low," Tony summarizes. "Look, whatever we might feel about each other, we're in this together now. Fucked up pieces of a parallel universe that shouldn't exist."

"I hate you," Loki bluntly supplies. Ouch. Tony is surprised to find that hurts, though he barely knows - barely  _knew_  - the guy. "But I reluctantly respect your -  _your_  - battle  _spirit_ , Stark. I agree with your assessment."

"This is a mess," Bruce says as he pinches the bridge of his nose.

"I know Brucey. I know."


End file.
